Year of Sweaters, Installment 1: The Summer Sweater KAL

Cardipalooza is officially over today, with many incredible new (perfectly-fitting!) cardigans making their way through the world. Our own progress was more varied; Amy finished, Lauren got bogged down in miles of fingering weight black Stockinette (Amy here – I’m wincing just typing that), and Jackie is plowing through her sweater after some slow starts.

We’ll do an official wrap-up post with prizes shortly, but want to take today to launch our next KAL, and talk sweaters.

I think sometimes, as knitters, we get too caught up in the notion that sweaters mean crisp fall days, icy edgings to delicate leaves, hands wrapping around a steaming mug of tea.

Certainly, sweaters are an essential part of cold weather – nothing keeps you warm like a great sweater. But as we were preparing for Cardipalooza, we realized that if you take a broader clothing perspective? Sweaters are an essential part of our daily lives, year-round.

The sweater I wear in July might not look the same as the sweater I wear in October, but it’s a sweater nonetheless. I probably have almost a dozen store-bought summer sweaters, in fact – none of which fit as well as my favorite fall hand-knits. It’s time to remedy that.

So please, join us in collectively and consciously expanding our notion of the hand-knit.

Cardipalooza got us thinking about a whole year of sweater knit-a-longs, all focused on the quintessential look/experience of the season. The classic fall sweater is there, to be sure. But so are all of the other ways sweaters enrich our wardrobes.

To celebrate the season, we’ll begin with the Summer Sweater KAL:

What makes a quintessential summer sweater? Most often, I’m reaching for an allover lacey sweater, a tank, or a vest of some kind. Other good choices for summer include lighter weight yarns, short or no sleeves, lace patterned edging…

…Now’s the time to dream about what you want to wear this summer. We’ll get started swatching and dreaming today, and give ourselves until August 15 to finish our shells, tanks, or vests. Take a dive in your stash and find a wool-silk blend, a good fingering weight, or maybe give a new fiber like linen or Outlast a try.

Just like with Cardipalooza, keep an eye on the blog for posts about what we’re knitting, how to wear your finished summer sweaters, and prizes once we finish up!

OK, I’m definitely going to do this! Even though I have not gotten my measurements to do Custom Fit (I’m having problems doing them on my own), I have a pattern I want to try, that is pretty straightforward and I am confident will fit. YAY, Amy for thinking of this. 🙂

I’ll be joining in as an “unoffical” participant, as my CF Nantasket shell was started earlier in May.
THANK YOU for posting the year’s schedule of CF KALs. It will make planning out projects lots of fun!